Why are there so many prospects in my CRM sync queue? Pardot User Guide

Concept

You may from time to time notice that your sync queue has gotten rather large and/or does not seem to be getting any smaller. There are several reasons why this may be happening and may lead to wanted or unwanted results. While unexpected errors can occur, the following are the most common reasons that large sync queues are encountered. To view your sync queue in Pardot, go to Administration> Connectors> Actions> Sync Queue.

Triggers and Workflows

If you have noticed lately that your sync queue appears to be growing rapidly or staying at a high static number, you may have workflows or triggers in your CRM that are constantly adding prospects to be synced. So, while it appears that your sync queue is not getting any smaller or that prospects are not syncing, it’s actually your CRM adding prospects to the queue at a rate that is equal to or faster than they are being synced.

Triggers and workflows can be set to run at different frequencies and under different conditions. If the triggers are set to run on a daily basis, or the conditions of the workflows/triggers are constantly being met, then it is likely that you will always have a large sync queue.

Other than having your CRM administrator look for workflows or triggers, an easy way to diagnose this issue is by looking at the updated date in your sync queue. If there are more than the expected number of prospects in the queue for that day (or any other single day), it may be because of a trigger or workflow that is changing the updated timestamp on your CRM records.

Mass Updates

Similar to triggers and workflows, mass updates are capable of updating large numbers of CRM records in a short period of time. Any record that is syncing with Pardot and meets the conditions of a mass update will be added to the sync queue. So, for example, if you run a mass update to change all contacts with the Country value of “United States” to “USA,” each of those prospects will be queued to sync.

Imports

The import of records into either Pardot or your CRM (if you have flagged your CRM to create prospects in Pardot) will cause prospects to be added to the sync queue. If your queue is higher than expected, someone in your organization may have completed a recent import. If you are anticipating prospects to queue from standard activities, but they have not, it may be because your sync queue is too large because of recent imports. It is therefore recommended that imports occur outside of regular business hours and are limited 20,000 prospects per import.

Non-assigned Prospects

Although Pardot will not create a new record in your CRM until a prospect is assigned, unassigned prospects are still subject to being added to your sync queue. Prospects that are unassigned but have a matching email address with a record in your CRM will still sync with each other. It is therefore necessary for Pardot to add unassigned prospects to the sync queue to look for matching records in your CRM.

Unverified Connectors

When a connector becomes unverified, it may not automatically show as being so. If your sync queue appears to be at a standstill, reverifiying your connector will update its actual status. If your connector is unverified, prospects will not sync and your queue will not get any smaller. However, updated prospects will continue to be added to the queue and will not sync until the connector is successfully reverified.

System Actions

If you have a large number of prospects that match the criteria of automation rules and drip programs, the associated actions may update Pardot or CRM fields and in doing so, will add those prospects to the sync queue.